Aaaannnd, We're back

Yes, there is a missing 10 weeks back thre, and yes, we're in the middle of a new set of 10, which will conclude our third volume of 10 week cycles. It's been a ride, and for those who know what I've been up to, you can understand why I haven't been as diligent in the past couple of months as I should have/could have in keeping this project currently posted.

Here's the bottom line:

PeaceCorps has removed my last legal hold and has been trying to place me for the past two weeks.

I am once again living without home, as I have moved out of my second ex-wife's apartment and will be moving from offices to guest homes over the month of May.

I have about four weeks to raise the last $2000 I'll need to settle my last account. That's how much I'm short after my paychecks come in. Windfalls, loans, tax rebates, and general answers to prayer are much being looked forward to. This debt must be settled, by agreement with the creditor, by the end of May. Also, PeaceCorps needs proof of the settlement before they let me leave the country.

For those who are interested, I am sharing an apartment with Uncle until the end of the week. I'm teaching him how to use the computer to get BBC News broadcasts in Urdu so he can follow current events in Pakistan. He's very cute, in a lethal, I hope he doesn't snap any minute kind of way.

Everything else worth talking about is something of a roadside attraction to where I'm at right now, and worth going back as amusing anecdotes warrant, but you won't need to go there to know where I'm at, and it's only incidental to know where I've been.

With that said, I'm likely to be cleaning this blog out in the near future and restyling it to be a little more flexible to meet the needs of my writing, thinking, and lifestyle.

Thank you all for your support on the journey this far. Stay tuned for more to come.

Gargh

=:]

The Big Update Part 1

I have become impressed with how things move and then, when momentum and velocity stabilize, fast seems normal.

I haven't posted for several weeks- and I am, of course, well into the next 10 weeks that I'm counting. I owe it to myself and whatever loyal readers are lurking out there in internetland to fill you in with the ups and downs of the wacky wonderful rollercoaster of my life. The Big Update will be a serial that will hopefully bring all items up-to-date in the various categories I've been writing under for the past several weeks. Unfortunately, we're looking at a synopsis as it seemed to came and went too quickly and with such ferocity for me to recognize the significance of many events untill context was established a month or more later.

What this means is- I didn't actually have a grasp on what I was dealing with until after it was over, for much of the last several weeks. I've coasted into my new 10 Weeks, and only now do I find myself in a position to put all this in writing to chronicle my most recent adventures, opportunities, and life-on-pause moments of the near past.

Finally, Thank You all for your support over the First 10 Weeks of 10 Weeks and Counting (Read: My Life). You prayers and comments have all been greatly appreciated.

To begin: The criticals:

Every Troll Needs A Cave- I am currently living with friends and about to move. I moved from my studio apartment in late December, stayed two weeks in California, and returned to Tucson at the beginning of the semester. I am reluctant to sign a lease until I hear from PeaceCorps with a Time Line for my life. I will explain more in near-future posts.


Every Troll Needs a Bridge- Bridge Update!

My bridges:

The old apartment job: 24/7 when I'm not doing anything else. (Finally replaced) I still stay in contact with many of the participants of that program and am happy to report that they are all doing well.
Full Time Teaching: Full-Time, three weeks a month. Three Weeks into the second semester. My students seem happy I'm still there, but the mid-terms are next week, so let's see how long that lasts.
Consult- Gas Station: 10-40 hours a week. This one's complicated, and continues to grow in complexity. It's not just a Gas Station, it's also a cab company, auto shop, auto rental/sales, and office management.
Consult- Crematorium: Still a cooky situation.
Consult: FAA Certified Repair Station- What fun! I've been studyingthe regs on how to operate (legally) a FAA certified aircraft repair station. On the side, I'm reading part 400 of CFR Title 14 (FAA), which regulates comercial space flight. I'm thinking about applying for my operator's license for a reusable launch vehicle, which seems to be a one-page application to a minor office in DC. Which me luck on completing my dream of becoming a licenced Astronaut.
AAABVI: Statewide recreation program for the blind in Arizona. I'm in the process of handing it over to new leadership. There's a saga in and of itself. Good news- first events are this weekend. Check it out at www.aaabvi.org
PROJECT TENTMAKER- A web-based consulting service (free) for Christian Entrepreneurs who want help starting a viable business so they can set aside time and money for ministry and service. This will be kicking into high-gear in the next two weeks. Look for the site-launch sometime next week.

Every Troll Needs a Goat To Chase-

I have met my financial goal for what I intended to raise myself in debt-reduction. I currently still owe about $4000, which is great, because I'm owed about $4000 by a friend/client. Still waiting for the money.... I'll explain this one in some more detail in a near-future post.

Bottom Line: Once I drop that debt to $0, I am free and clear to go into the PeaceCorps. Very tense. Very tense.

Every Troll Has A Story To Tell-

Over the Christmas Break I wrote a poem (posted below under the title, "Old Year's Day", and dictate 2 hours of material to be transcribed. I'm 1/3 of the way through it, and when done, will be able to complete the story "Around Eleven" very shortly. That is my writing priority for the next week, in my free time (yeah right).

***

And that's where I'm at. There are other projects firmenting, which I'll try to include as I bring everything up to speed. Look for more info soon.

Take care,

and,

gargh =;]

The List

The New 10 Weeks has begun. And, coincidentally, it's the New Year. It seems like it's time to reassert those goals that are driving my life, and see how we're doing with taking stuff off of THE LIST.

Everybody has a list- though most people haven't thought to make a long one, or write their's down. THE LIST is simply the batch of things you really want to do in your life. What follows ins't excusive, or exhaustive, or even organized to a great deal. Some items on THE LIST are always going to be in the category of "Target of Opportunity", meaning I'll do it if I happen to be in the neighborhood. Some things may never get done, but may lead to other things going up and then off THE LIST.

I'm sure you all have the idea by now.

One sidebar: If there's a number next to the item it's because it's been borrowed from "50 Things Everyone Must Do (At Least) Once In A Lifetime", a Card Deck that can be purchased at most games stores in your average mall. The ones I'm listing are the ones I haven't done yet. Some I may want to do again, but that may have to wait for another list. ;) On occassion, I may indicate the year I intend to get these things done- if I have a clue.

THE LIST

PEACE CORPS (2008)
Be Out of Debt (2008)
Buy everyone in the bar a drink #1
Swim with wild dolphins #2
Climb a mountain #3 (Kilamanjaro- by 2010)
Take a Ferrari for a test drive #4
See the pyramids by night #5
Hold a tarantula #6
Visit Paris #12
See the Norther Light #17
Create a masterpiece #19
Grow and eat your own vegatables #20
Take a hot air balloon ride #26
Bet on a winning horse #34
Hold a lamb #41
Ride in a supersonic jet #45
See a total eclipse (of the sun) #48
Go to the Olympics
Visit the MoMA
Go to an uninhabited island
Write a screenplay (by 2010)
Publish Fiction or Poetry (by 2010)
Run with the bulls (by 2012)
Scuba Dive
Take my parents on a vacation
Go to the Na'adam Festival in Mongolia
Visit the Gobi Desert
Ride horses on every continent
Horseback riding in Mongolia
Horseback riding in the Himalayas
Horseback riding in Turkey
Visit Iceland
Read Moby Dick (by 2008)
Read the works of Robert Louis Stevenson
Swim in all 5 oceans
Attend Mardis Gras
Ride on the Orient Express
Visit the Taj Mahal
See Angel Falls
Own only the clothes on my back

More to come. The list may very well become it's own page in the near future. Look for this posted somewhere soon in an editable and commentable format with updates as they happen.

Now, get to your own List.

gargh =;]

Merry Christmas!

I know that I haven't been keeping up with this blog like I should- probably the most said thing by any blogger throughout history.

I haven't been able to post progress on my barious short stories and other progress because I left my master disc in Tucson when I came to see my folks for the holidays in California.

I have just posted my most recent financial progress. It's slowly coming along.

I have moved out of my apartment, but don't have one to move into when I return. I will be staying short-term with friends until finances and PeaceCorps allign like a mythical constellation- or, more likely, for about a week or so.

As for PeaceCorpse, they contacted me last Thursday (December 19th) and asked if there was any way possible that I would have the holds on my application cleared by January 7th. I mentally glanced at my balance sheet, frowned, and said, no, there was no way. They thanked me for my honesty and informed me that they had had a posting in Eastern Europe come up at the last minute and that I could have gone to that. Oh well, back in the hopper for the Pacific Region, with the cautionary statement from PeaceCorps that postings may not be available again in the near future. *sigh*

But, Everything else is good. I will write more in the near future, like tomorrow, to provide more details. It has been a roller coaster of a couple of weeks, but we keep moving right along.

Take care, friends and loved ones,

And Merry Christmas,

Gargh =;]

Janis

I received some sad news yesterday.

14 years ago I, and My First Ex-wife, got a second cat. Our first cat, Jim, had to be put down in 2000 after complications following eye surgery. After my divorce in 2003, I took Janis in.

In May, 2006, I took a job where I was in-residence and on-call 24/7 at an apartment complex. I had to find a place for Janis to stay. My Second Ex-wife and stepson took her in and I visited at least every couple of weeks.

In May, 2007, Shanti told me that I had to find a place for Janis while she took my stepson to visit her parents in India. Janis found a home for a couple months, but then had to bounce around for a month. Running out of places for her to go, Janis ended up in an apartment she hated- it was smaller than I liked, crowded with people, and there was one dog in residence with another visiting. I tried to find other places for her, but no good option presented itself.

I was told a few weeks ago that Janis may have run away. She had disappeared for a few days in September, so I wasn't concerned because she was found hiding in part of the apartment. After three weeks of phone tag I received confirmation that Janis hadn't come back.

I have to believe that she was picked up by a loving family. She had a tag on and nobody has called to say she's found her in any kind of condition.

She has been my friend for 14 years. I miss her very much, and hope she is living out the end of her life with a little peace with someone who loves her as much as I do.

She was grumpy, affectionatie, and extremely loyal. Shanti said that she was like me, the perfect pet for me, because "She's very sweet and hard to live with." She was the best cat in the world.

gargh =:[

What does 'focus' mean, anyway?

The still fairly preachy and self-indulgent 2nd entry.

You would think that after two years I was pretty well focused on the idea of leaving the country. Fact is, shutting down your life takes quite a bit more work than you'd think. As it is, God's given me my fair share of challenges (read: 'opportunities') in the past year that have circuitously brought me around closer to this goal.

Thing is, that prideful part of me wants to take charge and streamline some of the craziness.

I know it won't work.

I'm cursed with beautiful friends.
I'm blessed with unusual acquaintances.
I'm driven by a desire to change the world.
And,
I'm constantly reminded of God's sense of humor.

It makes for an interesting life.

Here's where I was at in the middle of the summer. I'll bring you up to speed, for the sake of context, and we'll be looking at the individual areas as the blog progresses. This'll give you an idea on what I'm looking at by way of focus.

***
Every Troll Needs A Cave

My quest for shelter began in February. Since May, 2006, I've lived in a large studio apartment as part of an adult transition program for young blind adults. I had to move from a 2 bedroom house with a yard and a cat to take the job, but I helped design the program, so this was my chance to direct it in its first year.

But, in February, I was told that a new non-profit had bought in on the project and taken over the reigns from the foundation that had initially administrated the program. I had originally planned on being in the apartment for the first year only, so told the new directors to start looking for my replacement then.

I heard nothing back from them about this until August, when I received a phone call asking if I could be out in two weeks, they'd hired my replacement.

I was ready to go. The kids were great, and I'm still in contact with many of them, but that's a whole other story. The job was demanding. Late nights in the emergency room. Phone calls 24 hours a day requesting information about everything from directions to local pharmacies, application for state and federal benefits for the disabled. Polite enquiries about how to get bean stains off the ceiling, repair industrial washing machines, and whether or not there is a God. It was all part of the job, and I was tired.

In addition, when I got back from a business trip in the middle of July- the height of monsoon season- I found that part of my kitchen ceiling were collapsing. By the middle of August I'd basically moved to the couch to avoid the drips at night, and most of my possesions were under plastic in a corner of the bedroom or in the process of being given away or sold.

That's how I found myself in my living room, surrounded by work crews, plastic, cieling dust, and piles of my remainingo possessins, talking to the owner of my complex one afternoon. He had just been informed that I was moving out in the next week, and had asked what my plans were for the Peace Corps.

Now see, that's what's impressive. He didn't ask where I was going, or what I was doing now that I had lost one of my second jobs. He asked about the Peace Corps, the big goal he knew I was working towards. I gave him a quick up to date, centering on how I was hoping to be on my way, or know when I was leaving at the very least, by the end of December.

He just thought for a moment and offered me a place to stay at $100 a month. About a week later, his staff helped me move into my new studio, a much, much, smaller apartment. At this point I had no furniture, but the place came furnished. He made sure to put me in a room that came with a tv and extra desk lamps. Wow.

So, I have this place until the end of December. I'm down to half a closet and four drawers of clothes, three bookshelves of books, and assorted computer bits that let me post this blog.

I don't know what's going to happen in December, whether I'll still be in Tucson or not. But, I have some interesting options. More on that later.

***
Every Troll Needs A Bridge

The Bridge is where the Troll works, you see, and this one's no different. I have a number of bridges that I lurk under right now, and I need to pare those down before I go.

My bridges:

The old apartment job: 24/7 when I'm not doing anything else. (Finally replaced)
Full Time Teaching: Full-Time, three weeks a month. Currently about to begin second quarter.
Consult- Gas Station: 10-40 hours a week. This one's complicated, I'll explain it in a future post.
Consult- Crematorium: 2 hours a week+. New consult, more on this soon too.
AAABVI: Statewide recreation program for the blind in Arizona. I'm in the process of handing it over to new leadership.

***
Every Troll Needs a Goat To Chase

My Goat, right now, is the debt I'm in the process of agressively attacking. Peace Corps doesn't want to become the Foreign Legion of the New Millenium. They need you debt-free before you go. They perform background checks and make you account for individual creditors. As of July, 2007, I owed about $11,000. As of October, 2007, I'm down to about (hopefully) $4,500.

***
Every Troll Has A Story To Tell.

My writing has increased in volume in the past few years- my pace, my ideas, the scope of my projects. I am making a commitment to close out these projects and make more time for them as I tear some bridges down. Those who've read some of my work will understand much more of the references I'll be making in this area, but discussing my writing and crafting the story I'm living into words will be an important part of this blog.

***

So, Focus. I'm on a roller coaster ride heading towards the end of the year. I'm juggling the systematic dismantling of my life as I pare everything down to what can fit in a frame pack. Piece by piece I've got to take it apart. That's what I'm trying to focus on. Getting it done right in the right way in the right order.

More to come.

gargh. =:]

Why 'The Troll'?

This is the preachy 1st entry.

I suppose I should begin by answering this question: 'Why 'The Troll''?

'10 Weeks and Counting' is an attempt to put some focus on the things I want to be passionate about while I'm preparing to make some pretty substantial changes in my life.

The brief and misleading summary is that in about 10 weeks I hope to be out of a job, out of my apartment, and, God willing, out of the country.

About two years ago I felt a call to be somewhere else. I'd already traveled the world, and loved it, but I didn't want to just be a tourist. I wanted to go womewhere and put my God-given talents, skills, and education to a test. I wanted to stretch all of my muscles- body and soul, by finding opportunities for service outside of the place where I've been teaching and working for the past 12 years. I've been feeling like there was somehere else I've needed to be.

So I applied to the Peace Corps.

It took a year and a half to get my interviews and medical clearances. (Here's a fun fact that won't show up that much in the blog- I'm legally blind.) I'm now waiting for the last of my legal holds to clear.

Peace Corps wants me to clear all of my debt. I'm an American, so of course this was a daunting task. I've dropped my debt burden from $22,000 to about $4,500 in the past year and a half. I have plans in the works, you'll hear more about these later, to eliminate this debt and set my travel date. I've set an arbitrary deadline for the resolution of what's happening to me as December 31, 2007, 10 weeks from now.

So the name of the blog was easy to come up with. I've often talked with my students about needing to set goals in their lives and to always have a list of these goals to be working from to give their life direction. With more than a few things set on my list right now, all pointing to that brass ring of leaving the country for the next two years, I've found comfort in having a deadline, finally, for this project.

In fact, this may be a new direction for my life, setting that 10 week timeline. It's a good length to plan and execute any number of projects. So, this blog is more than just an experiment for writing and focus, it's an experiment to see if I can bring that focus I'm looking for into existence a little more clearly by giving myself these checkpoints for analysis.

BUT, Why adopt the monicker of 'The Troll?"

Because I finally gave up.

See, since I was a little kid, that's one of the more poignant epiphets that's been consistantly hurled at me. It's amazing really. Three elementary schools, two high schools, college, an ex-wife, the name keeps coming back. One summer when I was working a summer camp I was chosen to be the Troll in the Staff skit during bonding week. My performance was so well received I was known only as 'The Troll' for the rest of the summer to keep from confusing me with another less-Trollish counselor who had my same first name. Another summer I spent so much time visiting friends who had computer rigs set up all over their house that I was deemed 'The Garage Troll' for the duration, as that was where I ended up setting up shop for the months I was there.

Let's get some things clear first:

I don't grind children's bones into meal.
But I have eaten Goat.
I have spent time under my fair share of bridges.
And caves and trees.
But I've never terrorized a medieval village.
Annoyed, once, but never terrorized.

At any rate, I've given up.

I'm striking out into the world. I'm putting a new spin of focus and direction into my life. I am, in fact, reinventing myself.

So I figured I'd start by rediscovering myself. Warts and all. So I'm not fighting it anymore. I'll be The Troll. It's a place to start. I shall embrace my trollishness and bring forward everything good and trolly worth bringing forward.

Then I'll see if I'm still The Troll.

But, until then...

gargh. =:]

I've got a world to get at.